HOMO - Journal of Comparative Human Biology 66 (2015) 455–470
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Dermatoglyphic variation among the Limboo of Sikkim, India B. Dorjee a, S. Das a, N. Mondal b, J. Sen a,∗ a Department of Anthropology, University of North Bengal, P.O. NBU, Raja Rammohunpur, Darjeeling, West Bengal 734013, India b Department of Anthropology, Assam University, Diphu Campus, Karbi Anglong, Assam 782 462, India
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history: Received 24 July 2014 Accepted 15 February 2015
a b s t r a c t Variations in finger and palmar dermatoglyphic patterns are investigated among the Limboo (18–60 years, 150 males and 150 females), a little known population of Sikkim. The results for Limboo were compared with other North-East Indian populations. The most commonly occurring pattern was loop (males: 64.33%; females: 75.00%) followed by whorl (males: 31.00%; females: 21.33%) and finally arch (males: 4.67%; females: 3.66%). There were no significant differences between sexes in pattern types. The overall values of pattern intensity (P.I.I.), Dankmeijer’s (D.I.) and Furuhata’s (F.I.) indices were 14.08, 12.60 and 96.06 respectively. The P.I.I. was within the range for East Asian populations of North-East India. The D.I. was similar to those reported for Rajbanshi, Kalita, Rabha and Newar populations, while F.I. was higher than in other populations of Eastern Himalaya and North-East India. The most frequently occurring mainline formulae in all palm prints (left and right combined) were 7.5’.5.- followed by 9.7.5.- and finally 11.9.7.- (p > 0.05) and these were similar to the reported values for other Northeastern populations of India. The mean values of total finger ridge count (TFRC) and absolute finger ridge count (AFRC) were greater among males (138.03; s = 42.26 and 198.78; s = 77.4) than females (137.91; s = 44.15 and 194.47; s = 86.71). The a-b ridge count was greater among females than males. Sex differences in AFRC and a-b ridge count were both statistically significant (p < 0.05). The mean TFRC values were within ranges for populations of North-East India.
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 353 2776322; fax: +91 353 2699001. E-mail address: [email protected] (J. Sen). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jchb.2015.02.010 0018-442X/© 2015 Published by Elsevier GmbH.
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Cluster analysis based on P.I.I., D.I. and F.I. shows affinity of the Limbo to some of the populations of Assam and North-East India. © 2015 Published by Elsevier GmbH.
Introduction Dermatoglyphic traits play a significant role in establishing affinities of human populations for the simple reason that they remain under genetic control (Holt, 1952; Reed et al., 2006; Schaumann and Alter, 1976; Sengupta and Karmakar, 2004). Over the years, a large number of studies have documented variations among human populations using them (Arquimbau et al., 1993; Arrieta et al., 2003; Demarchi et al., 1997; Esteban and Moral, 1993; Scheil et al., 2005; Sivakova et al., 1995; Woolley et al., 1984). Significant studies have also been published in the field of personal identification using dermatoglyphics (Buchner, 1985; Caplan, 1990; Leadbetter, 2005; Polimeni and Saravo, 2004; Polimeni et al., 2004; Tahtouh et al., 2005). India as a country exhibits large ethnic and genetic diversity which is primarily due to the presence of a large number of indigenous populations (Indian Genome Variation Consortium, 2008; Majumder, 1998). For decades, researchers have used dermatoglyphic variables to document variations among different Indian populations (Balgir and Sharma, 1986; Bhasin and Walter, 2001; Jantz and Chopra, 1983; Karmakar et al., 2005; Kshatriya et al., 1980; Narahari et al., 2008; Reddy et al., 2000, 2001). North-East India is composed of the states of Sikkim, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur. Most of populations residing there show an East Asian ancestry. Sikkim, along with the district of Darjeeling in West Bengal is located in the region known as Eastern Himalaya. A limited number of studies on dermatoglyphics have been conducted among different populations of North-East India and Eastern Himalaya. Majority of these studies are related to the typological description of dermatoglyphic variables so as to understand the ethnic affinities of the concerned populations. Studies have been done among Assamese Hindu Caste populations (Das, 1979; Das and Bhagbati, 1967; Das et al., 1980), and Boro Kachari, Meche, Rabha, Garo, Hajong, Moran, Chutiya, Mikir, Lalung and Deuri populations (Chakravartti and Mukharjee, 1961; Das et al., 1980, 1985; Deb, 1979; Deka and Bora, 1973). In the district of Darjeeling, initial studies were conducted by Sarkar (1969, 1971) and Sarkar and Biswas (1972) on the Meche, Oraon, Munda, Rajbanshi, Brahmin, Kayastha, Vaida, Namasudra and Muslim populations. There were hardly any significant dermatoglyhic studies among the populations of this district published during the next 40 years. Only recently, studies were conducted on dermatoglyphic patterns among the Rajbanshi and Meche (Sen and Mondal, 2008; Sen et al., 2011), and among the Dhimal (Biswas, 2011). Also, studies on dermatoglyphics among the populations of Sikkim appear to be almost non-existent and a detailed literature search documented only three studies (Miki et al., 1960, 1961; Miki and Hasekura, 1961). Given the paucity of literature on the dermatoglyphic patterns of the various populations of Sikkim, there is a need for initiating studies in this field. The present study has, therefore, been designed to document finger and palmar dermatoglyphic variables among individuals belonging to the Limboo population of the state. It also tries to investigate the affiliation of this population with other neighboring North-East populations because of possible common or shared remote ancestry in the recent past. Materials and methods Study area and nature of the participants The present study was carried out among adult unrelated Limboo individuals aged between 18 and 60 years and residing in three villages (Lingchom, Tikjek and Langang) located in Yangthang Block, Gyalshing, Sikkim, India. These villages are located within 9 km from the district town of Gyalshing, West Sikkim (Fig. 1). Morphological features and surnames were used to identify individuals belonging to the Limboo population, which were subsequently verified from the official records. Initially, a total
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Fig. 1. Map of Sikkim showing the study area.
of 366 unrelated adult Limboo individuals (185 males and 181 females) were approached to voluntarily participate in the study. The aims and objectives of the study were explained to them, after which 26 individuals (11 males and 15 females) declined to further take part in the study. The final sample comprised 340 adult Limboo individuals (174 males and 166 females), the overall participation rate being 92.90%. Permissions for the study were taken from the local authorities prior to the study. A written consent was obtained from each participant prior to the collection of prints and the study has been conducted in accordance with the ethical guidelines regarding human experiments as laid down in the Helsinki Declaration (Touitou et al., 2004). All the individuals were free from any physical deformities of fingers and palms. Finger and palm prints on chart paper were obtained from these 340 individuals using standard ink and roll and following the method of Cummins and Midlo (1961). After the prints were brought to the Department of Anthropology, University of North Bengal for analysis, it was observed that dermatoglyphic prints from 40 individuals (24 males and 16 females) were either not discernible or could not be analyzed. These were subsequently discarded and the final sample consisted of finger and palm prints from 300 Limboo adult unrelated individuals (150 males and 150 females).
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Sikkim has been occupied by different ethnic communities at different points of time. The Lepcha, which is an East Asian population, is considered to be one of the major indigenous populations of Sikkim. Most of the other populations of Sikkim migrated from Nepal in the 19th century (Kumar et al., 2004). The Anthropological Survey of India has identified twenty-five ethnic communities in Sikkim classified into four ethnic stocks (Lepcha, Limboo, Bhutia and Nepali). While the first three are homogenous entities, the Nepali is composed of a number of castes and sub-castes. Locally known as “Tsong”, the Limboo population, according to Risley (1891), originated from the Tsang Province of Tibet from where they migrated to Sikkim via eastern Nepal. However, Subba (1999) believed that the Limboo were the original inhabitants of a region called “Limbuwan”, which was composed of parts of West and South Sikkim. The Limboo exhibit East Asian features and are morphologically similar to the Lepchas. Of late, the Limboo has been accorded the status of ‘Scheduled Tribe’ in the state of Sikkim. According to Article 366 of the Constitution of India, ‘Scheduled Tribes’ are those communities who are scheduled in accordance with Article 242 of this constitution. This article states that only those communities who have been declared as such by the President of India through an initial public notification or through a subsequent amending Act of Parliament will be considered as ‘Scheduled Tribes’. The essential features for a community to be identified as a ‘Scheduled Tribe’ first laid down by the Lokur Committee, are indications of primitive traits, distinctive culture, shyness of contact, geographical isolation and backwardness. Statistical analysis The statistical analysis has been done using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 17.0, Chicago, IL, USA). Chi-squared (2 ) analysis was used to assess sex and bilateral differences in finger and palmar qualitative dermatoglyphic variables (finger pattern types and mainline formulae) among both sexes. The Yates’s correction term was taken into consideration where the respective categories had a frequency of less than five as this added to the accuracy of the 2 analysis when number of classes remained small. One way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was done to determine bilateral and sex differences in the continuous dermatoglyphic variables (total finger ridge count, TFRC; absolute finger ridge count, AFRC and a-b ridge count on left and right finger and palm prints) between and within sexes. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Biological relationships based on the pattern intensity index (P.I.I.), Dankmeijer’s index (D.I.) and Furuhata’s index (F.I.) of dermatoglyphic patterns were established using the dendrogram analysis based on ward linkage cluster analysis (Dipierri et al., 2014) of the Limboo with other populations of North-East India. Results Distribution of finger pattern types The frequency distributions of finger pattern types for left, right and combined prints of Limboo males and females are presented in Tables 1 and 2 respectively. Whorls were more frequent on 1st, 2nd and 4th digits while 3rd and 5th digits showed a greater prevalence of ulnar loops among both sexes. The highest frequency of whorls was observed on 1st digit (64.33%) and 4th digit (57.67%) among males and females respectively. The frequency of ulnar loops was greatest on 5th digit among both males (64.00%) and females (75.00%). The frequency of arches ranged from 11.00% to 3.67% (2nd digit to 4th digit) and 9.00% to 2.00% (2nd digit to 1st digit) among males and females respectively. Among pattern types, the rarest pattern was radial loop. The greatest frequency of radial loop was on 2nd digit among males. The 5th digit among females was observed to be devoid of radial loop. Chi-squared analysis showed that there were no statistically significant sex differences in the frequencies of patterns types within digits (p > 0.05) in respective pattern types (whorl, loop and arch), except in the frequency of whorls on 4th (2 = 5.17, d.f.: 1; p < 0.05) and 5th (2 = 5.23, d.f.:1; p < 0.05) digits of right hands. The sex differences in pattern types, when the combined digital frequencies in respective and overall pattern types were considered, were not statistically significant (p > 0.05), with
Pattern type
Whorl Ulnar Loop Radial Loop Arch Total
Digit I
Digit II
Digit III
Digit IV
Digit V
L1
R1
L1 + R1
L2
R2
L2 + R2
L3
R3
L3 + R3
L4
R4
L4 + R4
L5
R5
L5 + R5
93 (62.00) 47 (31.33) 3 (2.00) 7 (4.67) 150 (100.00)
100 (66.67) 42 (28.00) 3 (2.00) 5 (3.33) 150 (100.00)
193 (64.33) 89 (29.67) 6 (2.00) 12 (4.00) 300 (100.00)
67 (44.65) 62 (41.33) 6 (4.00) 15 (10.00) 150 (100.00)
76 (50.67) 49 (32.67) 7 (4.67) 18 (12.00) 150 (100.00)
143 (47.67) 111 (37.00) 13 (4.33) 33 (11.00) 300 (100.00)
53 (35.33) 82 (54.66) 1 (0.67) 14 (9.33) 150 (100.00)
53 (35.33) 86 (57.33) 2 (1.33) 9 (6.00) 150 (100.00)
106 (35.33) 168 (56.00) 3 (1.00) 23 (7.67) 300 (100.00)
92 (61.33) 54 (36.00) 0 0.00 4 (2.67) 150 (100.00)
92 (61.33) 49 (32.67) 2 (1.33) 7 (4.67) 150 (100.00)
184 (61.33) 103 (34.33) 2 (0.66) 11 (3.67) 300 (100.00)
38 (25.33) 105 (70.00) 0 0.00 7 (4.67) 150 (100.00)
55 (36.67) 87 (58.00) 1 (0.67) 7 (4.67) 150 (100.00)
93 (31.00) 192 (64.00) 1 (0.33) 14 (4.67) 300 (100.00)
Figures in parenthesis indicate percentages.
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Table 1 Frequency of finger dermatoglyphic pattern types among Limboo males (N = 150).
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Pattern type Whorl Ulnar Loop Radial Loop Arch Total
Digit I
Digit II
Digit III
Digit IV
Digit V
L1
R1
L1 + R1
L2
R2
L2 + R2
L3
R3
L3 + R3
L4
R4
L4 + R4
L5
R5
L5 + R5
80 (53.33) 61 (40.67) 4 (2.67) 5 (3.33) 150 (100.00)
86 (57.33) 60 (40.00) 3 (2.00) 1 (0.67) 150 (100.00)
166 (55.33) 121 (40.33) 7 (2.33) 6 (2.00) 300 (100.00)
81 (54.00) 46 (30.67) 5 (3.33) 18 (12.00) 150 (100.00)
81 (54.00) 55 (36.67) 5 (3.33) 9 (6.00) 150 (100.00)
162 (54.00) 101 (33.67) 10 (3.33) 27 (9.00) 300 (100.00)
54 (36.00) 82 (54.67) 2 (1.33) 12 (8.00) 150 (100.00)
51 (34.00) 88 (58.67) 0 0.00 11 (7.33) 150 (100.00)
105 (35.00) 170 (56.67) 2 (0.67) 23 (7.67) 300 (100.00)
86 (57.33) 54 (36.00) 1 (0.67) 9 (6.00) 150 (100.00)
87 (58.00) 56 (37.33) 1 (0.67) 6 (4.00) 150 (100.00)
173 (57.67) 110 (36.67) 2 (0.67) 15 (5.00) 300 (100.00)
33 (22.00) 111 (74.00) 0 0.00 6 (4.00) 150 (100.00)
31 (20.67) 114 (76.00) 0 0.00 5 (3.33) 150 (100.00)
64 (21.33) 225 (75.00) 0 0.00 11 (3.66) 300 (100.00)
Figures in parentheses indicate percentages.
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Table 2 Frequency of finger dermatoglyphic pattern types among Limboo females (N = 150).
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Table 3 Finger pattern indices among Limboo males (N = 150) and females (N = 150). Index
Pattern Intensity Index Dankmeijer’s Index Furuhata’s Index
Male
Female
Left
Right
Mean
Left
Right
Mean
13.95 13.70 95.28
14.40 12.23 114.63
14.17 12.93 104.51
13.79 14.97 91.26
14.05 9.53 87.96
13.92 12.24 89.57
the exception in the frequency of whorls (2 = 4.25, d.f.: 1; p < 0.05) and in overall frequency of pattern types (2 = 9.33, d.f.: 3; p < 0.05) on the 5th digit. Pattern types on digits of Limboo males The distributions of pattern types on left and right digits among male Limboo individuals showed that the frequency of whorls was greater than ulnar loops, followed by arches and finally radial loops on 1st, 2nd and 4th digits of both hands. The frequency of ulnar loops was greater than whorls followed by arches and finally radial loops on 3rd and 5th digits of both hands. The frequency of whorls and ulnar loops was observed to be higher on 1st and 5th digits of both hands. The frequencies of radial loops and arches were higher on 2nd left and right digits. Radial loop appeared with the lowest frequency on both left and right digits. The frequency of radial loops ranged from 4.00% to 0.67% (2nd to 3rd digits) and 4.67% to 0.67% (2nd to 5th digits) on left and right hands respectively. The frequencies of arches were 10.00% and 2.67% on left 2nd and 4th digits, and 12.00% and 3.33% on right 2nd and 1st digits. Results of chi-squared analysis for differences between left and right digits with respect to pattern types showed that the bilateral differences were not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Pattern types on digits of Limboo females Frequencies of finger pattern types on left and right digits among Limboo females corroborated the trends exhibited by the males. The frequency of whorls was greater than ulnar loops followed by arches and finally radial loops in 1st, 2nd and 4th digits in both hands. The frequency of ulnar loops was greater than whorls followed by arches and radial loops on 3rd and 5th digits on both left and right hands. The frequencies of whorls and ulnar loops were higher on 4th and 5th digits in both hands. The arches showed the greatest frequency on 2nd left digit (12.00%) and 3rd right digit (7.33%). A greater frequency of radial loops was observed on 2nd digit (3.33%) than on other digits. Radial loops were absent on 5th digits of both hands. Bilateral differences between left and right digits in pattern types, assessed using chi-squared analysis, were statistically not significant (p > 0.05) between 1st to 5th digits. In certain instances radial loops had identical observed values on 2nd and 5th digits of left and right hands. Finger pattern indices among Limboo males and females The pattern intensity index (P.I.I.), Dankmeijer’s index (D.I.) and Furuhata’s index (F.I.) were calculated from finger pattern types (Table 3). The overall mean values of P.I.I, D.I. and F.I. were observed to be 14.08, 12.60 and 96.06 respectively. Males exhibited a higher mean P.I.I, higher D.I. and higher F.I. when compared to females. The values of P.I.I. and F.I. were higher in the right digits in case of males. Among females, P.I.I. was higher in the right digits while F.I. was higher in left digits. The D.I. was higher in left digits among both sexes. The principal palmar mainline formulae The frequency of the principal mainline formulae among the Limboo individuals is summarized in Table 4. The most frequently occurring principal mainline formulae on all palm prints (left and right
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Table 4 Frequency of palmar mainline formulae among Limboo males (N = 150) and females (N = 150). Mainline formula
7.5’.5.9.7.5.11.9.7.Rest Total
Male
Female
Left
Right
Left + Right
Left
Right
Left + Right
88(58.67) 31(20.67) 17(11.33) 14(9.33) 150(100.00)
68(45.33) 43(28.67) 22(14.67) 17(11.33) 150(100.00)
156(52.00) 74(24.67) 39(13.00) 31(10.33) 300(100.00)
86(57.33) 34(22.67) 15(10.00) 15(10.00) 150(100.00)
65(43.33) 46(30.67) 26(17.33) 13(8.67) 150(100.00)
151(50.33) 80(26.67) 41(13.67) 28(9.33) 300(100.00)
Figures in parentheses indicate percentages.
combined) were 7.5’.5.- followed by 9.7.5.- and finally 11.9.7.- Among males, the most often occurring mainline formula was 7.5’.5.- (52.00%) followed by 9.7.5.- (24.67%) and finally 11.9.7.- (13.00%). An identical trend was also noticed among females, where 7.5’.5.- (50.33%) was followed by 9.7.5.(26.67%) and finally 11.9.7.- (13.67%). The ‘Rest’ category had a frequency of 10.33% and 9.33% among males and females respectively. Bilateral differences existed in the mainline formulae among both sexes. Frequency of mainline formula 7.5’.5.- was greater in left palm among both males (58.67%) and females (57.33%). However, these differences were not statistically significant among both males (2 = 5.44, d.f.: 3; p > 0.05) and females (2 = 7.82, d.f.: 3; p > 0.05). Sex differences were statistically not significant in all categories, including left (2 = 0.321, d.f.: 3, p > 0.05), right (2 = 1.04, d.f.: 3; p > 0.05) and combined (2 = 0.52, d.f.: 3; p > 0.05) principal palmar mainline formulae. Termination of mainlines D, C, B and A Terminations of mainlines D, C, B and A on different positions of the palmar regions are shown in Table 5. Mainline D The highest frequency of termination of mainline D was in position 7 among both sexes (males: 55.33%; females: 55.00%). Termination of D line in position 7 was more frequent in left palms among both males (62.67%) and females (64.67%). Terminations at positions 8, 9 and 11 were more frequent in right palms than left palms in both sexes. Mainline C The highest frequency of termination of mainline C was in position 5’ followed by positions 7 and 9 in both males and females. The frequency of mainline C termination at 5’ was 54.33% in males and 51.33% in females. Terminations at positions 7 and 9 were higher among females (27.67% and 14.67%) than males (26.33% and 13.67%). The abortive types terminations of C line (‘X’, ‘x; and ‘O’) were also observed in the present study. Among males it terminated at X (0.67%), x (0.67%) and O (1.33%) and among females it terminated only at X (1.33%). Mainline B Termination of mainline B was most frequently observed in position 5 followed by 5’ and 7 among both sexes. The frequency of termination at 5 among females was 62.33% and among males was 61.00%. Frequencies of mainline B terminations in positions 5’ and 7 were among males 19.33% and 14.33 respectively, and among females 17.67% and 14.67% respectively. Terminations in position 5’ were more frequent in left palms while terminations at 7 were more frequent in right palms among both sexes. Mainline A The highest frequency of termination of mainline A was in position 3 among both males (71.33%) and females (66.33%). Lowest frequencies were observed in positions 5’, 2 and 1 among males (1.00%,
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Table 5 Termination of ‘D’, ‘C’, ‘B’ and ‘A’ mainlines among Limboo males (N = 150) and females (N = 150). Main line
Positions
Male Left
Female Right
Combined
Left
Right
Combined
D
11 10 9 8 7
18 (12.00) 4 (2.67) 34 (22.67) 0 (0.00) 94 (62.67)
23 (15.33) 3 (2.00) 50 (33.33) 2 (1.33) 72 (48.00)
41 (13.67) 7 (2.33) 84 (28.00) 2 (0.67) 166 (55.33)
15 (10.00) 1 (0.67) 36 (24.00) 1 (0.67) 97 (64.67)
26 (17.33) 3 (2.00) 49 (32.67) 4 (2.67) 68 (45.33)
41 (13.67) 4 (1.33) 85 (28.33) 5 (1.67) 165 (55.00)
C
9 8 7 6 5’ 5 X X 0
18 (12.00) 0 (0.00) 31 (20.67) 0 (0.00) 93 (62.00) 5 (3.33) 0 (0.00) 2 (1.33) 1 (0.67)
23 (15.33) 2 (1.33) 48 (32.00) 1 (0.67) 70 (46.67) 1 (0.67) 2 (1.33) 0 (0.00) 3 (2.00)
41 (13.67) 2 (0.67) 79 (26.33) 1 (0.33) 163 (54.33) 6 (2.00) 2 (0.67) 2 (0.67) 4 (1.33)
16 (10.67) 0 (0.00) 36 (24.00) 1 (0.67) 89 (59.33) 6 (4.00) 2 (1.33) 0 (0.00) 0 (0.00)
28 (18.67) 0 (0.00) 47 (31.33) 3 (2.00) 65 (43.33) 5 (3.33) 2 (1.33) 0 (0.00) 0 (0.00)
44 (14.67) 0 (0.00) 83 (27.67) 4 (1.33) 154 (51.33) 11 (3.67) 4 (1.33) 0 (0.00) 0 (0.00)
B
7 6 5’ 5 4 3 0
17 (11.33) 2 (1.33) 23 (15.33) 99 (66.00) 7 (4.67) 2 (1.33) 0 (0.00)
26 (17.33) 3 (2.00) 35 (23.33) 84 (56.00) 1 (0.67) 0 (0.00) 1 (0.67)
43 (14.33) 5 (1.67) 58 (19.33) 183 (61.00) 8 (2.67) 2 (0.67) 1 (0.33)
16 (10.67) 1 (0.67) 21 (14.00) 101 (67.33) 6 (4.00) 5 (3.33) 0 (0.00)
28 (18.67) 0 (0.00) 32 (21.33) 86 (57.33) 2 (1.33) 2 (1.33) 0 (0.00)
44 (14.67) 1 (0.33) 53 (17.67) 187 (62.33) 8 (2.67) 7 (2.33) 0 (0.00)
A
5’ 5 4 3 2 1
1 (0.67) 13 (8.67) 14 (9.33) 103 (68.67) 8 (5.33) 11 (7.33)
2 (1.33) 16 (10.67) 12 (8.00) 111 (74.00) 3 (2.00) 6 (4.00)
3 (100) 29 (9.67) 26 (8.67) 214 (71.33) 11 (3.67) 17 (5.67)
0 (0.00) 2 (1.33) 2 (1.33) 95 (63.33) 10 (6.67) 41 (27.33)
1 (0.67) 7 (4.67) 10 (6.67) 104 (69.33) 9 (6.00) 19 (12.67)
1 (0.33) 9 (3.00) 12 (4.00) 199 (66.33) 19 (6.99) 60 (20.00)
Figures in parentheses indicate percentages.
3.67% and 5.67% respectively) and in positions 5’, 5 and 4 among females (0.33%, 3.00% and 4.00% respectively). Ridge count The descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) of TFRC, AFRC and a-b ridge counts are shown in Table 6. Mean combined of TFRC was greater among males (138.03, s = 42.26) than females (137.91, s = 44.15). Using one way analysis of variance (ANOVA), the sex difference was not statistically significant in combined TFRC (F = 0.728, d.f.: 1, 298; p > 0.05). The mean values of TFRC were higher in right digits than left digits in both sexes. The bilateral difference, tested using ANOVA, was also not statistically significant among males (F = 0.041, d.f.: 1, 298; p > 0.05) and females (F = 0.728, d.f.: 1, 298; p > 0.05). The combined mean of AFRC was greater in males (198.78, s = 77.41) than in females (194.47, s = 86.71). The sex difference in this combined category was statistically significant using ANOVA (F = 144.11, d.f.:1, 298; p < 0.05). Mean values were higher in right digits in both sexes. Bilateral differences between left and right digits were not statistically significant in both males (F = 0.30, d.f.:1; p > 0.05) and females (F = 0.59, d.f.: 1, 298; p > 0.05) also when using ANOVA. The a-b ridge count was greater among females than males. The sex difference was statistically significant in combined a-b ridge counts using ANOVA (F = 5.30, d.f.: 1, 298; p < 0.05). The values were higher on right palms than left palms in both sexes. The bilateral difference was not statistically significant among males (F = 3.63, d.f.: 1, 298; p > 0.05) but was statistically significant among females (F = 5.30, d.f.: 1, 298; p < 0.05) when using ANOVA.
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Table 6 Sex and bilateral differences in ridge counts among males (N = 150) and females (N = 150). Type
TFRC
Sex
Male
Female
AFRC
Male
Female
a-b RC
Male
Female
Side
Mean
Standard deviation
Range Minimum
Maximum
Left Right Combined Left Right Combined
69.28 68.75 138.03 67.83 70.08 137.91
22.20 23.18 42.26 23.52 22.06 44.15
13.00 10.00 24.00 10.00 12.00 31.00
131.00 136.00 267.00 115.00 124.00 236.00
Left Right Combined Left Right Combined
98.01 100.77 198.78 95.27 99.20 194.47
42.59 44.63 77.41 22.20 43.90 86.71
13.00 10.00 24.00 10.00 12.00 31.00
210.00 221.00 431.00 197.00 213.00 410.00
Left Right Combined Left Right Combined
37.22 38.49 75.71 38.19 39.66 77.85
5.35 6.19 9.03 5.41 5.67 8.94
23.00 22.00 55.00 21.00 22.00 49.00
50.00 53.00 99.00 52.00 54.00 98.00
Dendrogram analysis A dendogram using Ward Linkage method is shown in Fig. 2. It has been drawn based on the frequency distributions of P.I.I., D.I. and F.I. reported for various populations of North-East India and for the Limboo population obtained in the present study. The dendrogram showed that the Limboo exhibited a population affinity with the East Asian populations of North-East India and Assam. They are placed in a cluster with the major East Asian populations that included Angami Naga, Lepcha and Bodo Kacheri. Discussion The Indian population comprises more than a billion people and consists of 4693 communities with several thousand endogamous ethnic groups (Singh, 2002) that exhibit significant quantity of ethnic and genetic diversity (Kalla, 1994). A number of studies on dermatoglyphics have been done on different ethnic populations of the country (Bhasin and Walter, 2001; Chakravartti and Mukharjee, 1961; Chattopadhyay and Sharma, 1969; Das and Bhagbati, 1967; Miki et al., 1960, 1961; Mitra et al., 1966; Sarkar, 1971; Sarkar and Biswas, 1972; Sen and Mondal, 2008; Sen et al., 2011). In the present study, the frequency of loops was the highest followed by whorls and finally arches. The frequency of loops in this study was greater than most of the reported values for North-East populations. Bhasin (2007) reported that the ethnic populations of Sikkim (Lepcha, Bhutia, Sherpa and Tamang) exhibited very high frequencies of loops (50.35–64.90%). The frequency of arches obtained in the present study was similar to those reported for the Rajbanshi, Rabha, Newar and Kalita populations (Bhasin, 1971, 1974; Chakravartti and Mukharjee, 1961; Sen and Mondal, 2008). The importance of the P.I.I. lies in its recognition as a valuable ethnic determinant (Newman, 1960). The mean values of pattern indices of P.I.I., D.I. and F.I. among the Limboos in our study were 14.05, 12.59 and 96.72 respectively. The P.I.I. mean value was reported to be smaller than 14.00 among the caste groups and greater than 14.00 in the tribal groups of India (Singh and Bhasin, 1979). The P.I.I. values among the Meche, Garo, Bodo Kachari, Rabha, Kalita, Thangkful and Hmar populations, all exhibiting East Asian affinities, had a range of 13.00–15.00 (Chakravartti and Mukharjee, 1961; Chakravarti and Mukherjee, 1962). In the present study, the result of the P.I.I. was well within this range. The P.I.I. values were smaller among the Kalita, Miri, Lalung and Rajbanshi populations when
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Fig. 2. Dendrogram based on pattern intensity index (P.I.I.), Dankmeijer’s index (D.I.) and Furuhata’s index (F.I.) showing population affinity of the Limboo individuals.
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Table 7 Comparison of pattern intensity index (P.I.I.), Dankmeijer’s index (D.I.) and Furuhata’s index (F.I.) between the Limboo and other populations of North-East India. Population
Sex
N
P.I.I
D.I. (A/W)
F.I. (W/L)
Reference
Ahom
M F M F M F M F M F M F M F M F M F M F M F M F M+F M+F M+F M+F M+F M+F M F
112 110 113 120 110 112 106 132 132 100 134 104 118 128 112 42 336 192 98 67 270 172 100 148 34 160 112 138 69 184 101
14.2 13.4 12.9 12.4 13.9 13.7 15.0 13.6 13.2 14.5 13.9 14.6 15.0 14.2 15.6 15.7 14.0 13.3 13.8 13.1 15.2 15.4 14.8 14.1 32.5 170.5 118.5 144.5 74.5 186.5 15.2
3.2 9.9 11.7 16.4 2.7 7.7 2.9 8.2 17.5 4.3 5.9 3.5 3.6 3.5 0.0 0.0 6.3 17.5 3.7 13.2 2.6 2.7 2.5 0.9 0.0 3.5 3.4 2.8 2.7 3.2 4.9
78.9 63.1 52.8 40.2 68.6 70.6 107.4 67.2 69.5 90.5 75.5 95.8 134.2 78.6 128.3 133.7 78.5 73.3 70.8 61.3 118.3 130.1 96.6 71.7 88.9 118.1 115.7 112.5 119.4 105.7 130.7
Chakravartti and Mukharjee (1961)
101 62 61 80 80 138 104 84 30 148 86 72 50 124 122 116 62 150 150
14.9 15.1 14.4 12.8 12.3 15.4 14.5 15.8 14.5 14.5 14.5 13.8 13.7 15.2 14.3 14.8 13.9 14.2 13.9
3.1 3.1 8.5 11.7 17.5 2.9 6.3 0 3.5 3.5 3.2 6.2 5.2 0.4 4.6 0.7 3.3 12.9 12.2
104.1 114.5 102.4 47.7 41.5 126.3 97.3 184.0 86.0 86.0 88.5 70.5 65.6 110.1 87.2 93.9 68.1 89.6 104.5
Kalita Miri Lalung Rabha Garo Mathei Lepcha Newars War Khasis Thangkful Hmar Kiranti Gurung Mangar Mech Bhutanese Tibetan Dhimal
Santhal Rajbanshi Bodo kachari Zou Veiphei Mech Kachari Angami Naga Moyon Mongsang Limboo
M F M F M F M F M F M F M F M F M F
Chakravartti and Mukharjee (1961) Chakravartti and Mukharjee (1961) Chakravartti and Mukharjee (1961) Chakravartti and Mukharjee (1961) Chakravartti and Mukharjee (1961) Chakravarti and Mukherjee (1962) Miki et al. (1960) Bhasin (1971, 1974) Das (1969) Chakravarti and Mukherjee (1962) Chakravarti and Mukherjee (1962) Woolley et al. (1984) Woolley et al. (1984) Woolley et al. (1984) Calculated from Woolley et al. (1984) Calculated from Woolley et al. (1984) Calculated from Woolley et al. (1984) Biswas (2011)
Chakravartii (1960) Sen and Mondal (2008) Chakravartti and Mukharjee (1961) Chakravarti and Mukherjee (1962) Chakravarti and Mukherjee (1962) Chakravartti and Mukharjee (1961) Chakravarti and Mukherjee (1962) Chakravarti and Mukherjee (1962) Present study
compared with the Limboo individuals of the present study (Table 7). Singh and Bhasin (1979) reported the average D.I. of more than 5.00 in the caste groups and less than 4.00 among the tribal groups. It has been also shown by Miki et al. (1960), Chakravartti and Mukharjee (1961) and Chakravarti and Mukherjee (1962) that the Rabha, Garo, Khasi, Mathei, Thangkful, Hmar, Zou and Veiphei populations of North-east India have a D.I. lower than 4.00. The D.I. values in our study are similar to those reported for the Rajbanshi, Kalita, Rabha and Newar populations (Bhasin, 1971, 1974; Chakravartti
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Table 8 Comparison of palmar mainline formulae (percentages) between the Limboo and other populations of North-East India. Population
Sex
N
11.9.7.-
9.7.5.-
7.5’.5.-
Reference
Ahom
M F M F M F M F M F M F M F M F M F M F M F M F M F
112 110 113 120 110 112 106 132 132 100 134 104 118 128 112 42 336 192 98 67 270 172 100 148 101
18.7 13.1 31.6 27.9 29.6 23.7 15.1 9.9 10.6 9.0 17.2 9.6 11.4 20.3 42.8 4.4 24.0 22.7 26.0 17.7 14.5 13.4 5.5 9.5 15.7
33.5 32.4 20.9 25.0 31.4 45.5 26.9 28.8 31.8 24.0 41.0 22.1 32.6 19.5 23.2 20.2 22.3 26.3 36.5 53.1 29.8 26.8 37.5 20.3 30.4
27.7 33.3 22.7 17.9 17.7 28.1 36.3 40.2 33.3 49.0 26.9 34.6 40.3 48.8 4.5 7.3 24.6 25.8 37.5 29.2 45.3 44.9 49.5 52.7 49.0
Chakravartti and Mukharjee (1961)
101 62 61 80 80 138 104 84 30 148 86 72 50 124 122 116 62 150 150
11.8 24.4 25.6 34.3 36.8 11.6 4.8 3.6 8.3 12.2 3.5 5.6 12.0 8.9 9.0 16.4 4.8 13.0 13.7
20.6 11.4 14.1 26.2 24.7 17.8 25.0 16.7 8.3 27.0 23.3 40.3 22.0 35.1 36.0 41.4 27.4 24.7 26.7
56.7 33.3 31.4 30.0 17.8 53.6 50.0 59.5 75.0 53.4 62.8 43.1 62.0 40.7 39.3 31.0 62.9 52.0 50.3
Kalita Miri Lalung Rabha Garo Mathei Lepcha Newars War Khasis Thangkful Hmar Dhimal
Santhal Rajbanshi Bodo kachari Zou Veiphei Mech Kachari Angami Naga Moyon Mongsang Limboo
M F M F M F M F M F M F M F M F M F
Chakravartti and Mukharjee (1961) Chakravartti and Mukharjee (1961) Chakravartti and Mukharjee (1961) Chakravartti and Mukharjee (1961) Chakravartti and Mukharjee (1961) Chakravarti and Mukherjee (1962) Miki et al. (1960) Bhasin (1971, 1974) Das (1969) Chakravarti and Mukherjee (1962) Chakravarti and Mukherjee (1962) Biswas (2011)
Chakravartii (1960) Sen and Mondal (2008) Chakravartti and Mukharjee (1961) Chakravarti and Mukherjee (1962) Chakravarti and Mukherjee (1962) Chakravartti and Mukharjee (1961) Chakravarti and Mukherjee (1962) Chakravarti and Mukherjee (1962) Present study
and Mukharjee, 1961; Sen and Mondal, 2008). The mean values of F.I. reported for populations of the Eastern Himalaya including North-East India were smaller than those documented for the Limboos. These populations were the Lepcha, Thangkful, Santhal, Bodo Kachari and Zou (Chakravartii, 1963; Chakravartti and Mukharjee, 1961; Chakravartii and Mukherjee, 1962; Miki et al., 1960). The F.I. values of the present study were greater than the reported values for other ethnic populations of the region such as Ahom, Kalita, Miri, Rabha, Garo and Khasi (Chakravartti and Mukharjee, 1961; Miki et al., 1960). A comparison of the available mainline frequencies for different ethnic communities of North-East India with that of the present study (Table 8) showed that the Limboos exhibited a higher frequency of 7.5.5. than those populations showing East Asian and tribal affinities, such as the Kalita, Miri, Rabha, Mathei Garo, War Khasi, Newars, and Juang (Bhasin, 1971, 1974; Chakravartii, 1960, 1963; Chakravartti and Mukharjee, 1961; Miki and Hasekura, 1961) and lower than the Bodo Kachari, Zou, Veiphei and
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Mech Kachari populations (Chakravartti and Mukharjee, 1961; Chakravartii and Mukherjee, 1962). The frequency of the mainline formula 9.7.5.- as observed among the Limboo individuals was lower than among the Miri, Lalung, Rabha, Garo, War Khasi, Thangkful, Hmar, Bodo Kachari, Mech Kachari, Zou, Veiphei, Angami Naga, Mayon Mongsang populations that exhibited East Asian affinities (Chakravartti and Mukharjee, 1961; Chakravartii and Mukherjee, 1962). In the present study, the mean values of TFRC and AFRC were higher among males than females. The a-b ridge count was higher among the females than the males. Schwidetzky and Jantz (1977), while reporting population trends in sexual dimorphism, observed that the males exceeded the females in mean TFRC values. Although it was proposed that AFRC could be used to greater extent for biological comparisons between populations (Chakraborty and Malhotra, 1981; Mukherjee, 1967), the comparison of AFRC of the Limboo population with other populations of North-East India could not be done due to the unavailability of AFRC data for these populations in the existing literature. Studies have indicated that the mean TFRC value was the highest among the East Asian populations (Bhutanese: 155.35, Tibetans: 156.23) (Bhasin, 2007). The mean TFRC value among the Limboo was lower than those reported by Bhasin (2007) among the scheduled tribes (140.59) and scheduled castes (142.60) from India. The mean TFRC value was higher than those reported by Bhasin (1971) for the Newar population (123.42 to 131.53). Later, Bhasin (2007) reported that among the populations from the Eastern Himalayan region, the mean TFRC value was low (136.19). The TFRC was 132.15 in Assam, 139.25 in Meghalaya and 139.98 in Sikkim. Hence, the mean TFRC and AFRC values of the Limboo are within the ranges for the populations of North-East India. Finger pattern indices appear to be a good indicator of population affinity. This may be attributed to the stronger genetic component of the finger dermatoglyphic variables (Jantz, 1977; Knussmann, 1967; Reddy and Malhotra, 1987; Sengupta and Karmakar, 2004). From the dendrogram analysis based on finger pattern indices it has been observed that the Limboos are closely related to some of the East Asian populations of North-East India and Assam. These populations are Zou, Thangkful, Angami Naga, and Lepcha. However, they are separated from other populations such as Meche, Gurung and Bhutanese (Fig. 2). The present study has highlighted the sex and bilateral differences in the finger and palmar dermatoglyphics among the Limboo population of Sikkim and also tried to ascertain their ethnic affiliation. The present study has, therefore, observed that the Limboo showed affinities with the East Asian populations of Assam and North-East India. Acknowledgements The authors are grateful to the authorities and the people of Yangthang Block, Gyalshing, West Sikkim for their cooperation. The help of the Department of Anthropology, University of North Bengal is also acknowledged. References Arquimbau, R., Esteban, E., Fananas, L., 1993. Finger dermatoglyphics in Delta de l’Ebre: a Mediterranean Spanish population. Anthrop. Anz. 5, 267–274. ˜ Arrieta, I., Martinez, B., Criado, B., Télez, M., Ortega, B., Penagarikano, O., Lostao, C.M., 2003. Dermatoglyphic variation in Spanish Basque populations. Hum. Biol. 75, 265–291. Balgir, R.S., Sharma, J.C., 1986. Dermatoglyphic studies among the two breeding isolates of Gujjars of Northwestern India. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 71, 467–476. Bhasin, M.K., 1971. Group difference among the Newars of Nepal for palmar dermatoglyphics. Z. Morphol. Anthropol. 16, 110–120. Bhasin, M.K., 1974. A genetic study on the Newars of Nepal valley. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 40, 67–74. Bhasin, M.K., Walter, H., 2001. Genetics of Castes and Tribes of India. Kamla-Raj Enterprises, Delhi, India. Bhasin, M.K., 2007. Genetics of castes and tribes of India: dermatoglyphics. Int. J. Hum. Genet. 7, 175–215. Biswas, S., 2011. Finger and palmar dermatoglyphic study among the Dhimals of North Bengal, India. Anthropologist 13, 235–238. Buchner, A., 1985. The identification of human remains. Int. Dent. J. 35, 307–311. Caplan, R.M., 1990. How fingerprints came into use for personal identification. J. Am. Acad. Dermatol. 23, 109–114. Chakraborty, R., Malhotra, K.C., 1981. Variations in asymmetry and interdigital diversity for three ridge—count measures among the Dhanger caste-cluster of Maharastra. Indian J. Hum. Evol. 10, 503–509.
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Dermatoglyphic variation among the Limboo of Sikkim, India B. Dorjee a, S. Das a, N. Mondal b, J. Sen a,∗ a Department of Anthropology, University of North Bengal, P.O. NBU, Raja Rammohunpur, Darjeeling, West Bengal 734013, India b Department of Anthropology, Assam University, Diphu Campus, Karbi Anglong, Assam 782 462, India
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history: Received 24 July 2014 Accepted 15 February 2015
a b s t r a c t Variations in finger and palmar dermatoglyphic patterns are investigated among the Limboo (18–60 years, 150 males and 150 females), a little known population of Sikkim. The results for Limboo were compared with other North-East Indian populations. The most commonly occurring pattern was loop (males: 64.33%; females: 75.00%) followed by whorl (males: 31.00%; females: 21.33%) and finally arch (males: 4.67%; females: 3.66%). There were no significant differences between sexes in pattern types. The overall values of pattern intensity (P.I.I.), Dankmeijer’s (D.I.) and Furuhata’s (F.I.) indices were 14.08, 12.60 and 96.06 respectively. The P.I.I. was within the range for East Asian populations of North-East India. The D.I. was similar to those reported for Rajbanshi, Kalita, Rabha and Newar populations, while F.I. was higher than in other populations of Eastern Himalaya and North-East India. The most frequently occurring mainline formulae in all palm prints (left and right combined) were 7.5’.5.- followed by 9.7.5.- and finally 11.9.7.- (p > 0.05) and these were similar to the reported values for other Northeastern populations of India. The mean values of total finger ridge count (TFRC) and absolute finger ridge count (AFRC) were greater among males (138.03; s = 42.26 and 198.78; s = 77.4) than females (137.91; s = 44.15 and 194.47; s = 86.71). The a-b ridge count was greater among females than males. Sex differences in AFRC and a-b ridge count were both statistically significant (p < 0.05). The mean TFRC values were within ranges for populations of North-East India.
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 353 2776322; fax: +91 353 2699001. E-mail address: [email protected] (J. Sen). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jchb.2015.02.010 0018-442X/© 2015 Published by Elsevier GmbH.
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Cluster analysis based on P.I.I., D.I. and F.I. shows affinity of the Limbo to some of the populations of Assam and North-East India. © 2015 Published by Elsevier GmbH.
Introduction Dermatoglyphic traits play a significant role in establishing affinities of human populations for the simple reason that they remain under genetic control (Holt, 1952; Reed et al., 2006; Schaumann and Alter, 1976; Sengupta and Karmakar, 2004). Over the years, a large number of studies have documented variations among human populations using them (Arquimbau et al., 1993; Arrieta et al., 2003; Demarchi et al., 1997; Esteban and Moral, 1993; Scheil et al., 2005; Sivakova et al., 1995; Woolley et al., 1984). Significant studies have also been published in the field of personal identification using dermatoglyphics (Buchner, 1985; Caplan, 1990; Leadbetter, 2005; Polimeni and Saravo, 2004; Polimeni et al., 2004; Tahtouh et al., 2005). India as a country exhibits large ethnic and genetic diversity which is primarily due to the presence of a large number of indigenous populations (Indian Genome Variation Consortium, 2008; Majumder, 1998). For decades, researchers have used dermatoglyphic variables to document variations among different Indian populations (Balgir and Sharma, 1986; Bhasin and Walter, 2001; Jantz and Chopra, 1983; Karmakar et al., 2005; Kshatriya et al., 1980; Narahari et al., 2008; Reddy et al., 2000, 2001). North-East India is composed of the states of Sikkim, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur. Most of populations residing there show an East Asian ancestry. Sikkim, along with the district of Darjeeling in West Bengal is located in the region known as Eastern Himalaya. A limited number of studies on dermatoglyphics have been conducted among different populations of North-East India and Eastern Himalaya. Majority of these studies are related to the typological description of dermatoglyphic variables so as to understand the ethnic affinities of the concerned populations. Studies have been done among Assamese Hindu Caste populations (Das, 1979; Das and Bhagbati, 1967; Das et al., 1980), and Boro Kachari, Meche, Rabha, Garo, Hajong, Moran, Chutiya, Mikir, Lalung and Deuri populations (Chakravartti and Mukharjee, 1961; Das et al., 1980, 1985; Deb, 1979; Deka and Bora, 1973). In the district of Darjeeling, initial studies were conducted by Sarkar (1969, 1971) and Sarkar and Biswas (1972) on the Meche, Oraon, Munda, Rajbanshi, Brahmin, Kayastha, Vaida, Namasudra and Muslim populations. There were hardly any significant dermatoglyhic studies among the populations of this district published during the next 40 years. Only recently, studies were conducted on dermatoglyphic patterns among the Rajbanshi and Meche (Sen and Mondal, 2008; Sen et al., 2011), and among the Dhimal (Biswas, 2011). Also, studies on dermatoglyphics among the populations of Sikkim appear to be almost non-existent and a detailed literature search documented only three studies (Miki et al., 1960, 1961; Miki and Hasekura, 1961). Given the paucity of literature on the dermatoglyphic patterns of the various populations of Sikkim, there is a need for initiating studies in this field. The present study has, therefore, been designed to document finger and palmar dermatoglyphic variables among individuals belonging to the Limboo population of the state. It also tries to investigate the affiliation of this population with other neighboring North-East populations because of possible common or shared remote ancestry in the recent past. Materials and methods Study area and nature of the participants The present study was carried out among adult unrelated Limboo individuals aged between 18 and 60 years and residing in three villages (Lingchom, Tikjek and Langang) located in Yangthang Block, Gyalshing, Sikkim, India. These villages are located within 9 km from the district town of Gyalshing, West Sikkim (Fig. 1). Morphological features and surnames were used to identify individuals belonging to the Limboo population, which were subsequently verified from the official records. Initially, a total
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Fig. 1. Map of Sikkim showing the study area.
of 366 unrelated adult Limboo individuals (185 males and 181 females) were approached to voluntarily participate in the study. The aims and objectives of the study were explained to them, after which 26 individuals (11 males and 15 females) declined to further take part in the study. The final sample comprised 340 adult Limboo individuals (174 males and 166 females), the overall participation rate being 92.90%. Permissions for the study were taken from the local authorities prior to the study. A written consent was obtained from each participant prior to the collection of prints and the study has been conducted in accordance with the ethical guidelines regarding human experiments as laid down in the Helsinki Declaration (Touitou et al., 2004). All the individuals were free from any physical deformities of fingers and palms. Finger and palm prints on chart paper were obtained from these 340 individuals using standard ink and roll and following the method of Cummins and Midlo (1961). After the prints were brought to the Department of Anthropology, University of North Bengal for analysis, it was observed that dermatoglyphic prints from 40 individuals (24 males and 16 females) were either not discernible or could not be analyzed. These were subsequently discarded and the final sample consisted of finger and palm prints from 300 Limboo adult unrelated individuals (150 males and 150 females).
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Sikkim has been occupied by different ethnic communities at different points of time. The Lepcha, which is an East Asian population, is considered to be one of the major indigenous populations of Sikkim. Most of the other populations of Sikkim migrated from Nepal in the 19th century (Kumar et al., 2004). The Anthropological Survey of India has identified twenty-five ethnic communities in Sikkim classified into four ethnic stocks (Lepcha, Limboo, Bhutia and Nepali). While the first three are homogenous entities, the Nepali is composed of a number of castes and sub-castes. Locally known as “Tsong”, the Limboo population, according to Risley (1891), originated from the Tsang Province of Tibet from where they migrated to Sikkim via eastern Nepal. However, Subba (1999) believed that the Limboo were the original inhabitants of a region called “Limbuwan”, which was composed of parts of West and South Sikkim. The Limboo exhibit East Asian features and are morphologically similar to the Lepchas. Of late, the Limboo has been accorded the status of ‘Scheduled Tribe’ in the state of Sikkim. According to Article 366 of the Constitution of India, ‘Scheduled Tribes’ are those communities who are scheduled in accordance with Article 242 of this constitution. This article states that only those communities who have been declared as such by the President of India through an initial public notification or through a subsequent amending Act of Parliament will be considered as ‘Scheduled Tribes’. The essential features for a community to be identified as a ‘Scheduled Tribe’ first laid down by the Lokur Committee, are indications of primitive traits, distinctive culture, shyness of contact, geographical isolation and backwardness. Statistical analysis The statistical analysis has been done using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 17.0, Chicago, IL, USA). Chi-squared (2 ) analysis was used to assess sex and bilateral differences in finger and palmar qualitative dermatoglyphic variables (finger pattern types and mainline formulae) among both sexes. The Yates’s correction term was taken into consideration where the respective categories had a frequency of less than five as this added to the accuracy of the 2 analysis when number of classes remained small. One way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was done to determine bilateral and sex differences in the continuous dermatoglyphic variables (total finger ridge count, TFRC; absolute finger ridge count, AFRC and a-b ridge count on left and right finger and palm prints) between and within sexes. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Biological relationships based on the pattern intensity index (P.I.I.), Dankmeijer’s index (D.I.) and Furuhata’s index (F.I.) of dermatoglyphic patterns were established using the dendrogram analysis based on ward linkage cluster analysis (Dipierri et al., 2014) of the Limboo with other populations of North-East India. Results Distribution of finger pattern types The frequency distributions of finger pattern types for left, right and combined prints of Limboo males and females are presented in Tables 1 and 2 respectively. Whorls were more frequent on 1st, 2nd and 4th digits while 3rd and 5th digits showed a greater prevalence of ulnar loops among both sexes. The highest frequency of whorls was observed on 1st digit (64.33%) and 4th digit (57.67%) among males and females respectively. The frequency of ulnar loops was greatest on 5th digit among both males (64.00%) and females (75.00%). The frequency of arches ranged from 11.00% to 3.67% (2nd digit to 4th digit) and 9.00% to 2.00% (2nd digit to 1st digit) among males and females respectively. Among pattern types, the rarest pattern was radial loop. The greatest frequency of radial loop was on 2nd digit among males. The 5th digit among females was observed to be devoid of radial loop. Chi-squared analysis showed that there were no statistically significant sex differences in the frequencies of patterns types within digits (p > 0.05) in respective pattern types (whorl, loop and arch), except in the frequency of whorls on 4th (2 = 5.17, d.f.: 1; p < 0.05) and 5th (2 = 5.23, d.f.:1; p < 0.05) digits of right hands. The sex differences in pattern types, when the combined digital frequencies in respective and overall pattern types were considered, were not statistically significant (p > 0.05), with
Pattern type
Whorl Ulnar Loop Radial Loop Arch Total
Digit I
Digit II
Digit III
Digit IV
Digit V
L1
R1
L1 + R1
L2
R2
L2 + R2
L3
R3
L3 + R3
L4
R4
L4 + R4
L5
R5
L5 + R5
93 (62.00) 47 (31.33) 3 (2.00) 7 (4.67) 150 (100.00)
100 (66.67) 42 (28.00) 3 (2.00) 5 (3.33) 150 (100.00)
193 (64.33) 89 (29.67) 6 (2.00) 12 (4.00) 300 (100.00)
67 (44.65) 62 (41.33) 6 (4.00) 15 (10.00) 150 (100.00)
76 (50.67) 49 (32.67) 7 (4.67) 18 (12.00) 150 (100.00)
143 (47.67) 111 (37.00) 13 (4.33) 33 (11.00) 300 (100.00)
53 (35.33) 82 (54.66) 1 (0.67) 14 (9.33) 150 (100.00)
53 (35.33) 86 (57.33) 2 (1.33) 9 (6.00) 150 (100.00)
106 (35.33) 168 (56.00) 3 (1.00) 23 (7.67) 300 (100.00)
92 (61.33) 54 (36.00) 0 0.00 4 (2.67) 150 (100.00)
92 (61.33) 49 (32.67) 2 (1.33) 7 (4.67) 150 (100.00)
184 (61.33) 103 (34.33) 2 (0.66) 11 (3.67) 300 (100.00)
38 (25.33) 105 (70.00) 0 0.00 7 (4.67) 150 (100.00)
55 (36.67) 87 (58.00) 1 (0.67) 7 (4.67) 150 (100.00)
93 (31.00) 192 (64.00) 1 (0.33) 14 (4.67) 300 (100.00)
Figures in parenthesis indicate percentages.
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Table 1 Frequency of finger dermatoglyphic pattern types among Limboo males (N = 150).
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Pattern type Whorl Ulnar Loop Radial Loop Arch Total
Digit I
Digit II
Digit III
Digit IV
Digit V
L1
R1
L1 + R1
L2
R2
L2 + R2
L3
R3
L3 + R3
L4
R4
L4 + R4
L5
R5
L5 + R5
80 (53.33) 61 (40.67) 4 (2.67) 5 (3.33) 150 (100.00)
86 (57.33) 60 (40.00) 3 (2.00) 1 (0.67) 150 (100.00)
166 (55.33) 121 (40.33) 7 (2.33) 6 (2.00) 300 (100.00)
81 (54.00) 46 (30.67) 5 (3.33) 18 (12.00) 150 (100.00)
81 (54.00) 55 (36.67) 5 (3.33) 9 (6.00) 150 (100.00)
162 (54.00) 101 (33.67) 10 (3.33) 27 (9.00) 300 (100.00)
54 (36.00) 82 (54.67) 2 (1.33) 12 (8.00) 150 (100.00)
51 (34.00) 88 (58.67) 0 0.00 11 (7.33) 150 (100.00)
105 (35.00) 170 (56.67) 2 (0.67) 23 (7.67) 300 (100.00)
86 (57.33) 54 (36.00) 1 (0.67) 9 (6.00) 150 (100.00)
87 (58.00) 56 (37.33) 1 (0.67) 6 (4.00) 150 (100.00)
173 (57.67) 110 (36.67) 2 (0.67) 15 (5.00) 300 (100.00)
33 (22.00) 111 (74.00) 0 0.00 6 (4.00) 150 (100.00)
31 (20.67) 114 (76.00) 0 0.00 5 (3.33) 150 (100.00)
64 (21.33) 225 (75.00) 0 0.00 11 (3.66) 300 (100.00)
Figures in parentheses indicate percentages.
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Table 2 Frequency of finger dermatoglyphic pattern types among Limboo females (N = 150).
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Table 3 Finger pattern indices among Limboo males (N = 150) and females (N = 150). Index
Pattern Intensity Index Dankmeijer’s Index Furuhata’s Index
Male
Female
Left
Right
Mean
Left
Right
Mean
13.95 13.70 95.28
14.40 12.23 114.63
14.17 12.93 104.51
13.79 14.97 91.26
14.05 9.53 87.96
13.92 12.24 89.57
the exception in the frequency of whorls (2 = 4.25, d.f.: 1; p < 0.05) and in overall frequency of pattern types (2 = 9.33, d.f.: 3; p < 0.05) on the 5th digit. Pattern types on digits of Limboo males The distributions of pattern types on left and right digits among male Limboo individuals showed that the frequency of whorls was greater than ulnar loops, followed by arches and finally radial loops on 1st, 2nd and 4th digits of both hands. The frequency of ulnar loops was greater than whorls followed by arches and finally radial loops on 3rd and 5th digits of both hands. The frequency of whorls and ulnar loops was observed to be higher on 1st and 5th digits of both hands. The frequencies of radial loops and arches were higher on 2nd left and right digits. Radial loop appeared with the lowest frequency on both left and right digits. The frequency of radial loops ranged from 4.00% to 0.67% (2nd to 3rd digits) and 4.67% to 0.67% (2nd to 5th digits) on left and right hands respectively. The frequencies of arches were 10.00% and 2.67% on left 2nd and 4th digits, and 12.00% and 3.33% on right 2nd and 1st digits. Results of chi-squared analysis for differences between left and right digits with respect to pattern types showed that the bilateral differences were not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Pattern types on digits of Limboo females Frequencies of finger pattern types on left and right digits among Limboo females corroborated the trends exhibited by the males. The frequency of whorls was greater than ulnar loops followed by arches and finally radial loops in 1st, 2nd and 4th digits in both hands. The frequency of ulnar loops was greater than whorls followed by arches and radial loops on 3rd and 5th digits on both left and right hands. The frequencies of whorls and ulnar loops were higher on 4th and 5th digits in both hands. The arches showed the greatest frequency on 2nd left digit (12.00%) and 3rd right digit (7.33%). A greater frequency of radial loops was observed on 2nd digit (3.33%) than on other digits. Radial loops were absent on 5th digits of both hands. Bilateral differences between left and right digits in pattern types, assessed using chi-squared analysis, were statistically not significant (p > 0.05) between 1st to 5th digits. In certain instances radial loops had identical observed values on 2nd and 5th digits of left and right hands. Finger pattern indices among Limboo males and females The pattern intensity index (P.I.I.), Dankmeijer’s index (D.I.) and Furuhata’s index (F.I.) were calculated from finger pattern types (Table 3). The overall mean values of P.I.I, D.I. and F.I. were observed to be 14.08, 12.60 and 96.06 respectively. Males exhibited a higher mean P.I.I, higher D.I. and higher F.I. when compared to females. The values of P.I.I. and F.I. were higher in the right digits in case of males. Among females, P.I.I. was higher in the right digits while F.I. was higher in left digits. The D.I. was higher in left digits among both sexes. The principal palmar mainline formulae The frequency of the principal mainline formulae among the Limboo individuals is summarized in Table 4. The most frequently occurring principal mainline formulae on all palm prints (left and right
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Table 4 Frequency of palmar mainline formulae among Limboo males (N = 150) and females (N = 150). Mainline formula
7.5’.5.9.7.5.11.9.7.Rest Total
Male
Female
Left
Right
Left + Right
Left
Right
Left + Right
88(58.67) 31(20.67) 17(11.33) 14(9.33) 150(100.00)
68(45.33) 43(28.67) 22(14.67) 17(11.33) 150(100.00)
156(52.00) 74(24.67) 39(13.00) 31(10.33) 300(100.00)
86(57.33) 34(22.67) 15(10.00) 15(10.00) 150(100.00)
65(43.33) 46(30.67) 26(17.33) 13(8.67) 150(100.00)
151(50.33) 80(26.67) 41(13.67) 28(9.33) 300(100.00)
Figures in parentheses indicate percentages.
combined) were 7.5’.5.- followed by 9.7.5.- and finally 11.9.7.- Among males, the most often occurring mainline formula was 7.5’.5.- (52.00%) followed by 9.7.5.- (24.67%) and finally 11.9.7.- (13.00%). An identical trend was also noticed among females, where 7.5’.5.- (50.33%) was followed by 9.7.5.(26.67%) and finally 11.9.7.- (13.67%). The ‘Rest’ category had a frequency of 10.33% and 9.33% among males and females respectively. Bilateral differences existed in the mainline formulae among both sexes. Frequency of mainline formula 7.5’.5.- was greater in left palm among both males (58.67%) and females (57.33%). However, these differences were not statistically significant among both males (2 = 5.44, d.f.: 3; p > 0.05) and females (2 = 7.82, d.f.: 3; p > 0.05). Sex differences were statistically not significant in all categories, including left (2 = 0.321, d.f.: 3, p > 0.05), right (2 = 1.04, d.f.: 3; p > 0.05) and combined (2 = 0.52, d.f.: 3; p > 0.05) principal palmar mainline formulae. Termination of mainlines D, C, B and A Terminations of mainlines D, C, B and A on different positions of the palmar regions are shown in Table 5. Mainline D The highest frequency of termination of mainline D was in position 7 among both sexes (males: 55.33%; females: 55.00%). Termination of D line in position 7 was more frequent in left palms among both males (62.67%) and females (64.67%). Terminations at positions 8, 9 and 11 were more frequent in right palms than left palms in both sexes. Mainline C The highest frequency of termination of mainline C was in position 5’ followed by positions 7 and 9 in both males and females. The frequency of mainline C termination at 5’ was 54.33% in males and 51.33% in females. Terminations at positions 7 and 9 were higher among females (27.67% and 14.67%) than males (26.33% and 13.67%). The abortive types terminations of C line (‘X’, ‘x; and ‘O’) were also observed in the present study. Among males it terminated at X (0.67%), x (0.67%) and O (1.33%) and among females it terminated only at X (1.33%). Mainline B Termination of mainline B was most frequently observed in position 5 followed by 5’ and 7 among both sexes. The frequency of termination at 5 among females was 62.33% and among males was 61.00%. Frequencies of mainline B terminations in positions 5’ and 7 were among males 19.33% and 14.33 respectively, and among females 17.67% and 14.67% respectively. Terminations in position 5’ were more frequent in left palms while terminations at 7 were more frequent in right palms among both sexes. Mainline A The highest frequency of termination of mainline A was in position 3 among both males (71.33%) and females (66.33%). Lowest frequencies were observed in positions 5’, 2 and 1 among males (1.00%,
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Table 5 Termination of ‘D’, ‘C’, ‘B’ and ‘A’ mainlines among Limboo males (N = 150) and females (N = 150). Main line
Positions
Male Left
Female Right
Combined
Left
Right
Combined
D
11 10 9 8 7
18 (12.00) 4 (2.67) 34 (22.67) 0 (0.00) 94 (62.67)
23 (15.33) 3 (2.00) 50 (33.33) 2 (1.33) 72 (48.00)
41 (13.67) 7 (2.33) 84 (28.00) 2 (0.67) 166 (55.33)
15 (10.00) 1 (0.67) 36 (24.00) 1 (0.67) 97 (64.67)
26 (17.33) 3 (2.00) 49 (32.67) 4 (2.67) 68 (45.33)
41 (13.67) 4 (1.33) 85 (28.33) 5 (1.67) 165 (55.00)
C
9 8 7 6 5’ 5 X X 0
18 (12.00) 0 (0.00) 31 (20.67) 0 (0.00) 93 (62.00) 5 (3.33) 0 (0.00) 2 (1.33) 1 (0.67)
23 (15.33) 2 (1.33) 48 (32.00) 1 (0.67) 70 (46.67) 1 (0.67) 2 (1.33) 0 (0.00) 3 (2.00)
41 (13.67) 2 (0.67) 79 (26.33) 1 (0.33) 163 (54.33) 6 (2.00) 2 (0.67) 2 (0.67) 4 (1.33)
16 (10.67) 0 (0.00) 36 (24.00) 1 (0.67) 89 (59.33) 6 (4.00) 2 (1.33) 0 (0.00) 0 (0.00)
28 (18.67) 0 (0.00) 47 (31.33) 3 (2.00) 65 (43.33) 5 (3.33) 2 (1.33) 0 (0.00) 0 (0.00)
44 (14.67) 0 (0.00) 83 (27.67) 4 (1.33) 154 (51.33) 11 (3.67) 4 (1.33) 0 (0.00) 0 (0.00)
B
7 6 5’ 5 4 3 0
17 (11.33) 2 (1.33) 23 (15.33) 99 (66.00) 7 (4.67) 2 (1.33) 0 (0.00)
26 (17.33) 3 (2.00) 35 (23.33) 84 (56.00) 1 (0.67) 0 (0.00) 1 (0.67)
43 (14.33) 5 (1.67) 58 (19.33) 183 (61.00) 8 (2.67) 2 (0.67) 1 (0.33)
16 (10.67) 1 (0.67) 21 (14.00) 101 (67.33) 6 (4.00) 5 (3.33) 0 (0.00)
28 (18.67) 0 (0.00) 32 (21.33) 86 (57.33) 2 (1.33) 2 (1.33) 0 (0.00)
44 (14.67) 1 (0.33) 53 (17.67) 187 (62.33) 8 (2.67) 7 (2.33) 0 (0.00)
A
5’ 5 4 3 2 1
1 (0.67) 13 (8.67) 14 (9.33) 103 (68.67) 8 (5.33) 11 (7.33)
2 (1.33) 16 (10.67) 12 (8.00) 111 (74.00) 3 (2.00) 6 (4.00)
3 (100) 29 (9.67) 26 (8.67) 214 (71.33) 11 (3.67) 17 (5.67)
0 (0.00) 2 (1.33) 2 (1.33) 95 (63.33) 10 (6.67) 41 (27.33)
1 (0.67) 7 (4.67) 10 (6.67) 104 (69.33) 9 (6.00) 19 (12.67)
1 (0.33) 9 (3.00) 12 (4.00) 199 (66.33) 19 (6.99) 60 (20.00)
Figures in parentheses indicate percentages.
3.67% and 5.67% respectively) and in positions 5’, 5 and 4 among females (0.33%, 3.00% and 4.00% respectively). Ridge count The descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) of TFRC, AFRC and a-b ridge counts are shown in Table 6. Mean combined of TFRC was greater among males (138.03, s = 42.26) than females (137.91, s = 44.15). Using one way analysis of variance (ANOVA), the sex difference was not statistically significant in combined TFRC (F = 0.728, d.f.: 1, 298; p > 0.05). The mean values of TFRC were higher in right digits than left digits in both sexes. The bilateral difference, tested using ANOVA, was also not statistically significant among males (F = 0.041, d.f.: 1, 298; p > 0.05) and females (F = 0.728, d.f.: 1, 298; p > 0.05). The combined mean of AFRC was greater in males (198.78, s = 77.41) than in females (194.47, s = 86.71). The sex difference in this combined category was statistically significant using ANOVA (F = 144.11, d.f.:1, 298; p < 0.05). Mean values were higher in right digits in both sexes. Bilateral differences between left and right digits were not statistically significant in both males (F = 0.30, d.f.:1; p > 0.05) and females (F = 0.59, d.f.: 1, 298; p > 0.05) also when using ANOVA. The a-b ridge count was greater among females than males. The sex difference was statistically significant in combined a-b ridge counts using ANOVA (F = 5.30, d.f.: 1, 298; p < 0.05). The values were higher on right palms than left palms in both sexes. The bilateral difference was not statistically significant among males (F = 3.63, d.f.: 1, 298; p > 0.05) but was statistically significant among females (F = 5.30, d.f.: 1, 298; p < 0.05) when using ANOVA.
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Table 6 Sex and bilateral differences in ridge counts among males (N = 150) and females (N = 150). Type
TFRC
Sex
Male
Female
AFRC
Male
Female
a-b RC
Male
Female
Side
Mean
Standard deviation
Range Minimum
Maximum
Left Right Combined Left Right Combined
69.28 68.75 138.03 67.83 70.08 137.91
22.20 23.18 42.26 23.52 22.06 44.15
13.00 10.00 24.00 10.00 12.00 31.00
131.00 136.00 267.00 115.00 124.00 236.00
Left Right Combined Left Right Combined
98.01 100.77 198.78 95.27 99.20 194.47
42.59 44.63 77.41 22.20 43.90 86.71
13.00 10.00 24.00 10.00 12.00 31.00
210.00 221.00 431.00 197.00 213.00 410.00
Left Right Combined Left Right Combined
37.22 38.49 75.71 38.19 39.66 77.85
5.35 6.19 9.03 5.41 5.67 8.94
23.00 22.00 55.00 21.00 22.00 49.00
50.00 53.00 99.00 52.00 54.00 98.00
Dendrogram analysis A dendogram using Ward Linkage method is shown in Fig. 2. It has been drawn based on the frequency distributions of P.I.I., D.I. and F.I. reported for various populations of North-East India and for the Limboo population obtained in the present study. The dendrogram showed that the Limboo exhibited a population affinity with the East Asian populations of North-East India and Assam. They are placed in a cluster with the major East Asian populations that included Angami Naga, Lepcha and Bodo Kacheri. Discussion The Indian population comprises more than a billion people and consists of 4693 communities with several thousand endogamous ethnic groups (Singh, 2002) that exhibit significant quantity of ethnic and genetic diversity (Kalla, 1994). A number of studies on dermatoglyphics have been done on different ethnic populations of the country (Bhasin and Walter, 2001; Chakravartti and Mukharjee, 1961; Chattopadhyay and Sharma, 1969; Das and Bhagbati, 1967; Miki et al., 1960, 1961; Mitra et al., 1966; Sarkar, 1971; Sarkar and Biswas, 1972; Sen and Mondal, 2008; Sen et al., 2011). In the present study, the frequency of loops was the highest followed by whorls and finally arches. The frequency of loops in this study was greater than most of the reported values for North-East populations. Bhasin (2007) reported that the ethnic populations of Sikkim (Lepcha, Bhutia, Sherpa and Tamang) exhibited very high frequencies of loops (50.35–64.90%). The frequency of arches obtained in the present study was similar to those reported for the Rajbanshi, Rabha, Newar and Kalita populations (Bhasin, 1971, 1974; Chakravartti and Mukharjee, 1961; Sen and Mondal, 2008). The importance of the P.I.I. lies in its recognition as a valuable ethnic determinant (Newman, 1960). The mean values of pattern indices of P.I.I., D.I. and F.I. among the Limboos in our study were 14.05, 12.59 and 96.72 respectively. The P.I.I. mean value was reported to be smaller than 14.00 among the caste groups and greater than 14.00 in the tribal groups of India (Singh and Bhasin, 1979). The P.I.I. values among the Meche, Garo, Bodo Kachari, Rabha, Kalita, Thangkful and Hmar populations, all exhibiting East Asian affinities, had a range of 13.00–15.00 (Chakravartti and Mukharjee, 1961; Chakravarti and Mukherjee, 1962). In the present study, the result of the P.I.I. was well within this range. The P.I.I. values were smaller among the Kalita, Miri, Lalung and Rajbanshi populations when
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Fig. 2. Dendrogram based on pattern intensity index (P.I.I.), Dankmeijer’s index (D.I.) and Furuhata’s index (F.I.) showing population affinity of the Limboo individuals.
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Table 7 Comparison of pattern intensity index (P.I.I.), Dankmeijer’s index (D.I.) and Furuhata’s index (F.I.) between the Limboo and other populations of North-East India. Population
Sex
N
P.I.I
D.I. (A/W)
F.I. (W/L)
Reference
Ahom
M F M F M F M F M F M F M F M F M F M F M F M F M+F M+F M+F M+F M+F M+F M F
112 110 113 120 110 112 106 132 132 100 134 104 118 128 112 42 336 192 98 67 270 172 100 148 34 160 112 138 69 184 101
14.2 13.4 12.9 12.4 13.9 13.7 15.0 13.6 13.2 14.5 13.9 14.6 15.0 14.2 15.6 15.7 14.0 13.3 13.8 13.1 15.2 15.4 14.8 14.1 32.5 170.5 118.5 144.5 74.5 186.5 15.2
3.2 9.9 11.7 16.4 2.7 7.7 2.9 8.2 17.5 4.3 5.9 3.5 3.6 3.5 0.0 0.0 6.3 17.5 3.7 13.2 2.6 2.7 2.5 0.9 0.0 3.5 3.4 2.8 2.7 3.2 4.9
78.9 63.1 52.8 40.2 68.6 70.6 107.4 67.2 69.5 90.5 75.5 95.8 134.2 78.6 128.3 133.7 78.5 73.3 70.8 61.3 118.3 130.1 96.6 71.7 88.9 118.1 115.7 112.5 119.4 105.7 130.7
Chakravartti and Mukharjee (1961)
101 62 61 80 80 138 104 84 30 148 86 72 50 124 122 116 62 150 150
14.9 15.1 14.4 12.8 12.3 15.4 14.5 15.8 14.5 14.5 14.5 13.8 13.7 15.2 14.3 14.8 13.9 14.2 13.9
3.1 3.1 8.5 11.7 17.5 2.9 6.3 0 3.5 3.5 3.2 6.2 5.2 0.4 4.6 0.7 3.3 12.9 12.2
104.1 114.5 102.4 47.7 41.5 126.3 97.3 184.0 86.0 86.0 88.5 70.5 65.6 110.1 87.2 93.9 68.1 89.6 104.5
Kalita Miri Lalung Rabha Garo Mathei Lepcha Newars War Khasis Thangkful Hmar Kiranti Gurung Mangar Mech Bhutanese Tibetan Dhimal
Santhal Rajbanshi Bodo kachari Zou Veiphei Mech Kachari Angami Naga Moyon Mongsang Limboo
M F M F M F M F M F M F M F M F M F
Chakravartti and Mukharjee (1961) Chakravartti and Mukharjee (1961) Chakravartti and Mukharjee (1961) Chakravartti and Mukharjee (1961) Chakravartti and Mukharjee (1961) Chakravarti and Mukherjee (1962) Miki et al. (1960) Bhasin (1971, 1974) Das (1969) Chakravarti and Mukherjee (1962) Chakravarti and Mukherjee (1962) Woolley et al. (1984) Woolley et al. (1984) Woolley et al. (1984) Calculated from Woolley et al. (1984) Calculated from Woolley et al. (1984) Calculated from Woolley et al. (1984) Biswas (2011)
Chakravartii (1960) Sen and Mondal (2008) Chakravartti and Mukharjee (1961) Chakravarti and Mukherjee (1962) Chakravarti and Mukherjee (1962) Chakravartti and Mukharjee (1961) Chakravarti and Mukherjee (1962) Chakravarti and Mukherjee (1962) Present study
compared with the Limboo individuals of the present study (Table 7). Singh and Bhasin (1979) reported the average D.I. of more than 5.00 in the caste groups and less than 4.00 among the tribal groups. It has been also shown by Miki et al. (1960), Chakravartti and Mukharjee (1961) and Chakravarti and Mukherjee (1962) that the Rabha, Garo, Khasi, Mathei, Thangkful, Hmar, Zou and Veiphei populations of North-east India have a D.I. lower than 4.00. The D.I. values in our study are similar to those reported for the Rajbanshi, Kalita, Rabha and Newar populations (Bhasin, 1971, 1974; Chakravartti
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Table 8 Comparison of palmar mainline formulae (percentages) between the Limboo and other populations of North-East India. Population
Sex
N
11.9.7.-
9.7.5.-
7.5’.5.-
Reference
Ahom
M F M F M F M F M F M F M F M F M F M F M F M F M F
112 110 113 120 110 112 106 132 132 100 134 104 118 128 112 42 336 192 98 67 270 172 100 148 101
18.7 13.1 31.6 27.9 29.6 23.7 15.1 9.9 10.6 9.0 17.2 9.6 11.4 20.3 42.8 4.4 24.0 22.7 26.0 17.7 14.5 13.4 5.5 9.5 15.7
33.5 32.4 20.9 25.0 31.4 45.5 26.9 28.8 31.8 24.0 41.0 22.1 32.6 19.5 23.2 20.2 22.3 26.3 36.5 53.1 29.8 26.8 37.5 20.3 30.4
27.7 33.3 22.7 17.9 17.7 28.1 36.3 40.2 33.3 49.0 26.9 34.6 40.3 48.8 4.5 7.3 24.6 25.8 37.5 29.2 45.3 44.9 49.5 52.7 49.0
Chakravartti and Mukharjee (1961)
101 62 61 80 80 138 104 84 30 148 86 72 50 124 122 116 62 150 150
11.8 24.4 25.6 34.3 36.8 11.6 4.8 3.6 8.3 12.2 3.5 5.6 12.0 8.9 9.0 16.4 4.8 13.0 13.7
20.6 11.4 14.1 26.2 24.7 17.8 25.0 16.7 8.3 27.0 23.3 40.3 22.0 35.1 36.0 41.4 27.4 24.7 26.7
56.7 33.3 31.4 30.0 17.8 53.6 50.0 59.5 75.0 53.4 62.8 43.1 62.0 40.7 39.3 31.0 62.9 52.0 50.3
Kalita Miri Lalung Rabha Garo Mathei Lepcha Newars War Khasis Thangkful Hmar Dhimal
Santhal Rajbanshi Bodo kachari Zou Veiphei Mech Kachari Angami Naga Moyon Mongsang Limboo
M F M F M F M F M F M F M F M F M F
Chakravartti and Mukharjee (1961) Chakravartti and Mukharjee (1961) Chakravartti and Mukharjee (1961) Chakravartti and Mukharjee (1961) Chakravartti and Mukharjee (1961) Chakravarti and Mukherjee (1962) Miki et al. (1960) Bhasin (1971, 1974) Das (1969) Chakravarti and Mukherjee (1962) Chakravarti and Mukherjee (1962) Biswas (2011)
Chakravartii (1960) Sen and Mondal (2008) Chakravartti and Mukharjee (1961) Chakravarti and Mukherjee (1962) Chakravarti and Mukherjee (1962) Chakravartti and Mukharjee (1961) Chakravarti and Mukherjee (1962) Chakravarti and Mukherjee (1962) Present study
and Mukharjee, 1961; Sen and Mondal, 2008). The mean values of F.I. reported for populations of the Eastern Himalaya including North-East India were smaller than those documented for the Limboos. These populations were the Lepcha, Thangkful, Santhal, Bodo Kachari and Zou (Chakravartii, 1963; Chakravartti and Mukharjee, 1961; Chakravartii and Mukherjee, 1962; Miki et al., 1960). The F.I. values of the present study were greater than the reported values for other ethnic populations of the region such as Ahom, Kalita, Miri, Rabha, Garo and Khasi (Chakravartti and Mukharjee, 1961; Miki et al., 1960). A comparison of the available mainline frequencies for different ethnic communities of North-East India with that of the present study (Table 8) showed that the Limboos exhibited a higher frequency of 7.5.5. than those populations showing East Asian and tribal affinities, such as the Kalita, Miri, Rabha, Mathei Garo, War Khasi, Newars, and Juang (Bhasin, 1971, 1974; Chakravartii, 1960, 1963; Chakravartti and Mukharjee, 1961; Miki and Hasekura, 1961) and lower than the Bodo Kachari, Zou, Veiphei and
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Mech Kachari populations (Chakravartti and Mukharjee, 1961; Chakravartii and Mukherjee, 1962). The frequency of the mainline formula 9.7.5.- as observed among the Limboo individuals was lower than among the Miri, Lalung, Rabha, Garo, War Khasi, Thangkful, Hmar, Bodo Kachari, Mech Kachari, Zou, Veiphei, Angami Naga, Mayon Mongsang populations that exhibited East Asian affinities (Chakravartti and Mukharjee, 1961; Chakravartii and Mukherjee, 1962). In the present study, the mean values of TFRC and AFRC were higher among males than females. The a-b ridge count was higher among the females than the males. Schwidetzky and Jantz (1977), while reporting population trends in sexual dimorphism, observed that the males exceeded the females in mean TFRC values. Although it was proposed that AFRC could be used to greater extent for biological comparisons between populations (Chakraborty and Malhotra, 1981; Mukherjee, 1967), the comparison of AFRC of the Limboo population with other populations of North-East India could not be done due to the unavailability of AFRC data for these populations in the existing literature. Studies have indicated that the mean TFRC value was the highest among the East Asian populations (Bhutanese: 155.35, Tibetans: 156.23) (Bhasin, 2007). The mean TFRC value among the Limboo was lower than those reported by Bhasin (2007) among the scheduled tribes (140.59) and scheduled castes (142.60) from India. The mean TFRC value was higher than those reported by Bhasin (1971) for the Newar population (123.42 to 131.53). Later, Bhasin (2007) reported that among the populations from the Eastern Himalayan region, the mean TFRC value was low (136.19). The TFRC was 132.15 in Assam, 139.25 in Meghalaya and 139.98 in Sikkim. Hence, the mean TFRC and AFRC values of the Limboo are within the ranges for the populations of North-East India. Finger pattern indices appear to be a good indicator of population affinity. This may be attributed to the stronger genetic component of the finger dermatoglyphic variables (Jantz, 1977; Knussmann, 1967; Reddy and Malhotra, 1987; Sengupta and Karmakar, 2004). From the dendrogram analysis based on finger pattern indices it has been observed that the Limboos are closely related to some of the East Asian populations of North-East India and Assam. These populations are Zou, Thangkful, Angami Naga, and Lepcha. However, they are separated from other populations such as Meche, Gurung and Bhutanese (Fig. 2). The present study has highlighted the sex and bilateral differences in the finger and palmar dermatoglyphics among the Limboo population of Sikkim and also tried to ascertain their ethnic affiliation. The present study has, therefore, observed that the Limboo showed affinities with the East Asian populations of Assam and North-East India. Acknowledgements The authors are grateful to the authorities and the people of Yangthang Block, Gyalshing, West Sikkim for their cooperation. The help of the Department of Anthropology, University of North Bengal is also acknowledged. References Arquimbau, R., Esteban, E., Fananas, L., 1993. Finger dermatoglyphics in Delta de l’Ebre: a Mediterranean Spanish population. Anthrop. Anz. 5, 267–274. ˜ Arrieta, I., Martinez, B., Criado, B., Télez, M., Ortega, B., Penagarikano, O., Lostao, C.M., 2003. Dermatoglyphic variation in Spanish Basque populations. Hum. Biol. 75, 265–291. Balgir, R.S., Sharma, J.C., 1986. Dermatoglyphic studies among the two breeding isolates of Gujjars of Northwestern India. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 71, 467–476. Bhasin, M.K., 1971. Group difference among the Newars of Nepal for palmar dermatoglyphics. Z. Morphol. Anthropol. 16, 110–120. Bhasin, M.K., 1974. A genetic study on the Newars of Nepal valley. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 40, 67–74. Bhasin, M.K., Walter, H., 2001. Genetics of Castes and Tribes of India. Kamla-Raj Enterprises, Delhi, India. Bhasin, M.K., 2007. Genetics of castes and tribes of India: dermatoglyphics. Int. J. Hum. Genet. 7, 175–215. Biswas, S., 2011. Finger and palmar dermatoglyphic study among the Dhimals of North Bengal, India. Anthropologist 13, 235–238. Buchner, A., 1985. The identification of human remains. Int. Dent. J. 35, 307–311. Caplan, R.M., 1990. How fingerprints came into use for personal identification. J. Am. Acad. Dermatol. 23, 109–114. Chakraborty, R., Malhotra, K.C., 1981. Variations in asymmetry and interdigital diversity for three ridge—count measures among the Dhanger caste-cluster of Maharastra. Indian J. Hum. Evol. 10, 503–509.
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